Coupler and yoke constructions



`draft applied to the vehicle coupler.

yoke.

-l reference may be Patented Sept. 16', 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTCOUPLER AND YOKE CONSTRUCTION S Application March 28, 1950, Serial No.152,486

This invention relates to draft mechanisms for use on railway vehicles,such as cars or motive power units, for cushioning shocks in buff andMore particularly, the invention is concerned with a novel coupler anddraft gear combination which permits the coupler to swing a limiteddistance ina horizontal plane to facilitate the coupling` together ofcars, the couplers of which are somewhat out of horizontal alignment.

Though the new coupler and draft gear combination may be employed infriction gears it Iwill be illustrated and describedas including 'aAvertical yoke positioned between the spaced longitudinal sills of thevehicle and cushioning means interposed between the yoke and the sills.The

Vyoke is provided with a pair of horizontally .slots in the yoke wingsand coupler shank are suciently longer than the key is wide so that thecoupler may be swung in a horizontal plane,

.relative to the yoke, against the resilient means until the couplerengages one of the Wings of the The yoke is substantially narrowerthroughout its length than the space between the sills, so that the yokemay be swung a limited distance relative to the sills against the forceexerted upon it by the cushioning means. The total angle, through whichthe coupler may thus be swung relative to the railway vehicle in eitherhorizontal direction, is, therefore, equal to the horizontal swing ofthe coupler with respect to vthe yoke plus the swing of the yoke withrespect to the sills of the vehicle.

For a better understanding of the invention,

'drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a lcoupler and draft gearcombination, according to Athe invention on line I-I of Fig. 2, and

Fige2 is a vertical sectional view on the line vmade to the accompanyingl Y 3 Claims. (Cl. 213-19) n y 2 Y In the drawings, the coupler andvdraft gear combination is illustrated as installed on a railvway vehiclewhich is provided with spaced longitudinal sills I0, on the inner facesof which are mounted front and rear abutment means, which may be pairsof front stops II and rear stops I2. The tops of the sills are connectedby'a platef'I3 and, at their lower ends, the sills are provided withoutwardly extending nanges I4 connected by a carry iron I5. Wear platesI6 are supported between the sills on the carry iron I5 and similar wearplates I1 yare attached to plate I3, which connects the tops of thesills.

A vertical yoke I8 is supported between the sills on wear plates I6 andit comprises a front bar I9 and a rear bar 20 connected by upper andlower bars 2| and 22. Horizontally spacedjside wings 23 integral withthe front bar extend forwardly from it and verticalyv spaced wings 2 4project forwardly from the front bar of the yoke between wings 23. i

A front cushioning unit 25 lies within the yoke and is supported on thelower bar 22 of the yoke. This unit is made upof alternate rubber spings26 vand nat divider plates V2 `I, each rubber spring consisting of ametal sheet to the opposite faces of which are secured concentric rubberrings 28. The rubber springs and divider plates are usually rectangularin form. The front cushioning unit bears at its rear end against thefront face ofthe rear bar 20 of the yoke and at its, forward end,against a follower block 29 which extends through the yoke, rests uponlower bar 22 of the yoke, and has forwardly extending ,portions 30 and3| which engage front stops Il. f 1

A rear cushioning unit 32 made up of alternate rubber springs anddivider plates is mounted out.- side the yoke and rests upon'wear platesI6. The rear cushioning unit bears at its forward end against the rearface of the rear bar `2l) of the yoke and at its rear end against afollower block 33, the rear face of which engages rear stops' l2. Therear cushioning unit, as shown, contains a larger number f of rubbersprings and divider plates than the front unit, so that the gear hasgreater capacity in bui than in draft.

I'he shank 34 of a coupler 35 extends into the pocket dened by the wings23 and'24 of the yoke and the shank is connected to the yoke by a key 36which passes through a slot 31 in thesh'ank and aligned slots 38 and 39in the side wings 23 of the yoke. A recess 40 is formed in the frontface of front bar I9 of the yoke between the wings and containsresilient means for acting on the rear end of the coupler shank andtending to force it outwardly, so that the rear end of the slot in theshank engages key 36l and forces the key against the front ends of theslots in the wings. Various forms of resilient means may be used andthat shown is a rubber ring 4I, which is somewhat thicker than therecess is deep and is held in place by a stud |9a on the yoke. Afollower 42 is interposed between the front face of the cushion and therear end of the coupler shank and is held in place by opposed transverseflanges 24a extending inward from the top and bottom wings 24.

The slots in the coupler shank and in the side wings of the yoke aresubstantially longer than than the key is widel and, when the coupler isacted upon by a force in draft the force is transmitted through theshank and key to the wings 23 of the yoke and the yoke is then movedforward against the resistance of the front cushioning unit 25. In buffthe force is transmitted from the-coupler'shank to the yoke throughfollower 42 and the pad 4|, and the yoke moves back against theresistance of the rear cushioning unit 32. Under compression, pad 4Iwill be deformed and flow4 into the space between the front face of thefront bar I9 of the yoke and thefollower 42.

The coupler is supported` forwardly of its connection to the yoke by astriking casting 44 which prevents the coupler from moving downwardly ina vertical plane but the coupler may, be swung f yoke, is substantiallynarrower than the distance between the opposed faces of the sills.Therefore, the yoke too may be swung a small distance in a horizontalplane against the resistance of cushioning units and 32.

The provision of a resilientl seat for the rear end of the coupler shankand the loose key connection between the shank of the coupler v and -thewings of the yoke permit the coupler to be swung in -a horizontal plane,and the resilient member acting on the fiat rear end of the shanktendsto maintain the-coupler in central position. The coupler may beswung until its shank engages a wing of the yoke and, since the yoke isnarrower than the space between the sills, the coupler and the yoke maybe swung farther until the wing of the yoke engages the inner face ofthe adjacent sill. The total angle of swing of the coupler is sufficientto make possible engagement of a pair of couplers, which aresubstantially out of alignment.

We claim:

l. In a railway vehicle having spaced longitudlnal sills provided withspaced front and rear abutments on their opposed faces and elongatedslots between the ends of the sills and the front abutments, a couplerand draft gear combination, which comprises a yoke positioned betweenthe sills, cushioning means interposed between the yoke and respectivepairs of abutments, the

yoke having a front bar containing a recess in its forward face and apair of side wings projecting forwardly from the front bar, a couplerhaving a shank extending between the wings, the shank and wings havingslots aligned with the sill slots, a key extending through all theslots, a resilient element seated in the recess and projecting out ofthe recess, a follower bearing upon the resilient element and engagingthe rear end of the shank, the resilient element and the follower urgingthe shank forward to cause the rear end of the shank slot to hold thekey against the forward ends of the wing slots, and upper and lowerflanges on the yoke for holding the follower in place.

2. In a railway vehicle having spaced longitudinal sills provided withspaced front and rear abutments on their opposed faces and elongatedslots between the ends of the sills and the front abutments, a couplerand draft gear combination, which comprises a yoke positioned betweenthe sills, cushioning means interposed between the yoke and respectivepairs of abutments, the yoke having a front bar containing a recess inits forward face and a pair of side wings and a pair of top and bottomwings projecting forwardly from the front bar, a coupler having a shankextending into the space defined by the wings, the shank and side wingshaving slots aligned with the sill slots, a key extending through allthe slots, the slots being substantially longer than the key is wide, aresilient element seated in the recess and projecting out of the recess,a follower engaged by the element and engaging the rear end of theshank, the element and follower urging the shank forward to cause therear end of the shank slot tov hold the key resiliently against theforward ends of the side wing slots, whereby the coupler may be swung inthe plane of the key against the force exerted upon the coupler shank bythe element and follower, and the yoke being substantially narrowerthroughout its length than the space between the sills, whereby the yokemay be swung laterally a limited distance against the resilient forceyexerted upon it by the cushioning means, and

flanges on the opposed inner faces of the top and bottom wings forholding the follower in position.

3. In a railway vehicle having spaced longitudinal sills provided withspaced front and rear abutments on their opposed faces and elongatedslots between the ends of the sills and the front abutments, a couplerand draft gear combination, which comprises a vertical yoke positionedbetween the sills, cushioning means interposed between vthe yoke andrespective pairs of abutments, the yoke having a front bar containing anannular recess in its forward face and a'pair of horizontally spacedside wings and a pair of vertically spaced top and bottom wingsprojecting forwardly from the front bar, a coupler having a shankextending into the space defined by the wings, the shank and side wingshaving slots horizontally aligned with the sill slots, a horizontallydisposed key extending through all the slots and the slots beingsubstantially longer than the key is wide, an annular rubber elementseated in the recess, a follower engaged by the outer end of the elementand engaging the rear end of the shank, the element and follower urgingtheshank forward to cause the rear end of fthe shank slot to hold thekey resiliently against the forwardv ends of the wing slots, wherebyvthe coupler may be swung in a horizontal plane against the forceexerted upon the coupler shank 5 y by the element and follower until thecoupler REFERENCESCITED Shank engages one of the wmgs and the yoke Thefollowing references are of record in the being substantially narrowerthroughout its m f tht t. length than the space between the sills whereeo 1s pa' en by the yoke may be swung horizontally against 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS the resilient force exerted upon it by the cush- NumberName Date ioning means until it engages a sill and means 904,712Mcconway Nov, 24, 1908 on the inner faces of one pair of wings for hold-1,369,224 Davis Feb. 22, 1921 ing the follower in position. 1,648,340George Nov. 8, 11927 WALTER CABBLE DTI-1G. 10 1,850,694 Schulz Mar. 22,1932 GEORGE ROLFE MUNRO. 2,197,030 clark Apr. 16, 1940 2,469,118 Kimm etai. May 3, 1949

